Best Tech Products Released in 2018

December 20, 2018

10:12 am

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Even by the relentless standards of tech innovation, 2018 has been quite the year. We’ve seen some incredible products launched in the past 12 months, from awesome laptops to must-have tablets, lust-worthy phones to brilliant fitness devices.

We’ve rounded up our top tech for the year below. If you’re lucky, Santa might just have left one of these under the tree for you.

If not, bypass the jolly fella entirely and treat yourself – after all, you’ve been good this year, right?

MacBook Air 13 (2018)

When it was first revealed, the MacBook Air was a real head-turner. Powerful, super-light and able to fit into an A4 envelope (as the adverts constantly told us), it genuinely felt innovative. And then….Apple seemed to forget about it for a few years.

Like many, we thought Apple had replaced the Air line with “the MacBook”, its even slimmer 12-inch cousin. While the Air had the occasional update since its first appearance in 2010, the design, and many of the internals, remained untouched.

Apple has finally ditched the outdated 5th gen processor for a modern 8th-gen, instead. Elsewhere, Apple graced the Air with a Retina screen, a smaller bezel, TouchID and an improved keyboard and trackpad.

If there’s one thing we’re not so hot on, it’s the larger price tag. But, the MacBook Air is still the cheapest model in Apple’s laptop line-up.

It leaves the 12-inch MacBook in a slightly odd position. It may be a shade slimmer, but it runs a slower processor, yet is more expensive than the Air. We’ll leave it to Apple to figure out its lineup. Meanwhile, it’s just good to feel excited about the MacBook Air again.

Pros

Cons

Not as slim as the MacBook

Limited ports

Google Pixel 3 XL

The best phone of 2018 doesn’t have an Apple or Samsung logo on it. No, it’s a big G that adorns the handset of the Google Pixel 3 XL.

Google has produced some nice tech this year, there’s no doubt, and we’ve enjoyed playing with its products at Tech.co Towers. The Google Pixel 3 XL is a standout, however. It manages to deliver a truly premium Android phone experience, plus some fantastic features (and only a few complaints).

The first thing to mention is the camera. It’s one of the best we’ve ever seen. Images are full of detail and color, and it can make the most bleary-eyed selfie look awesome. There’s also a very decent ‘group selfie’ mode, which does a great job of using a wide angle lens to capture you and your pals at once.

Then there’s the screen – a fantastic 6-inch OLED that just sings. Although, we do lament the large notch, which slightly ruins the effect. Let’s hope 2019 is the year we all ditch the notch for good.

Stacked up against the Samsung S9 and Apple iPhone XS Max, the Pixel 3 XL is 2018’s head-turner. A feature-packed phone with an excellent camera (as well as all the other stuff you’d expect from a high-end phone in 2018), it’s tough to beat.

Pros

Ergonomic design

Excellent screen quality

Top quality camera

Cons

Camera a tad too complex

Bixby still not needed

iPad Pro

Guess what? Apple has won the tablet wars for yet another year. It shouldn’t be too surprising – the original iPad in 2010 is single-handedly responsible for establishing tablets as a must-have device, and Apple has outpaced the competition at every turn.

With the Android tablet market dwindling, and Windows models feeling like a strange halfway house between laptop and tablet, Apple hasn’t reinvented the wheel to stay ahead. But, it has refined and polished it to the nth degree.

2018 saw some important additions the flagship iPad Pro models, including an all screen face, and the iconic home button being ditched for good. It also introduced FaceID, following the iPhone X’s lead. What makes this interesting is that the Pro range inevitable leads the charge in the iPad space, and these features trickle down to the standard model soon after. As an example, 2018’s 9.7 iPad was made compatible with the Apple Pencil, meaning that note-taking and doodling was no longer reserved for the fancy Pro models.

The iPad Pro was a stunning tablet in its own right, but the 2018 update elevates it considerably, with numerous improvements both inside and out.

Pros

Most powerful iPad yet

Large, stunning screen

Pencil compatible

Cons

Pricey

Specs overkill for most

Kindle Paperwhite

When it comes to ebook readers, there’s only one game in town, and it’s Amazon’s Kindle range. Ok, maybe it has some competition in the Kobo or Barnes & Noble Nook, but the Kindle line-up is without doubt the ebook reader of choice. And that’s no accident.

2018 saw Amazon release an updated version of its backlit Kindle, the Paperwhite. Like Apple’s 9.7 iPad, it took an already excellent product and turned it up to 11. In fact, Amazon may have been a little too generous, as the new additions to the Paperwhite have made its much more expensive Oasis stablemate seem almost obsolete.

So, what does your $129 get you? Well, first up, the Kindle Paperwhite is now waterproof, so you can finally take Jane Austen into the bath with you. It’s also brighter than the previous model, slimmer, and packs in extra storage space. Not only that, but it’s compatible with audio books too, providing you connect with bluetooth headphones or speaker.

For a mid-range device, it feels like a premium product, and it’s the ebook reader we think you should pick up.

Pros

Waterproof

Back-light

Anti-glare screen

Cons

Touchscreen controls not for everyone

Fitbit Charge 3

With the new year on the horizon, it’s the time to start thinking about getting fit. I know what you’re thinking. It’s harrrrrrd. Well, good news – a fitness watch under the tree might just provide the help you need to get rid of those extra Christmas pounds.

Our pick of the bunch is the Fitbit Charge 3. In addition to all the stuff you’d expect a fitness tracker to do (measure heart rate, sleep cycles, calories burned and so on), it will also send calendar notifications and call notifications. It’s also water resistant to 50 meters, meaning that whatever your sport, the Fitbit fits.

With a decent seven-day battery life (depending on how active you are), you won’t have to recharge it every night, which is good news if you want to make use of its sleep tracking features. Yes, it’s a bit pricier than some other devices, but with the additional features, it’s worth the extra.

Pros

Water resistant to 50m

Built-in smartwatch features

Long battery life

Cons

No on-board GPS

No pressable buttons

Apple Watch Series 4

Apple makes our 2018 list for the third time with the latest Apple Watch, and it’s for a good reason. It doesn’t seem that long ago since Apple launched the first Watch, and now, it’s the number one watch manufacturer in the world.

The Series 4 is undoubtedly the most advanced Apple Watch yet, and offers several new functions. Apple has gone big on health this time around, introducing some excellent features for fitness fanatics. Perhaps the most impressive is the Watch’s ability to take an electrocardiogram any time, any where. This can be a great way to understand what your heart is doing, offering results that can be shared with your doctor.

It also caters to a more vulnerable market for the first time, being able to now detect if the wearer suffers a fall. If you’re inactive for a minute of more, Apple Watch will alert authorities and loved ones that you need assistance.

Of course, it’s also a fully-fledged fitness watch too, and has been approved by the FDA as a health device.

Apple Watch Series 4

Pros

Big screen makes apps easy to use

Thin design

Lots of third party sports apps

Cons

Pricey

Not Android compatible (obviously)

Best in Gaming in 2018

2018 has been a banner year for gaming, and it’s hard to pick one standout title. That said, here are the games that have been keeping us busy this year:

Sony PSVR: Proof that Sony is sticking by VR, platformer Astrobot provided an utterly charming world that saw you craning your neck to seek out your lost robot buddies.

Microsoft Xbox One: Xbox owners may not have the wealth of exclusives that other platforms offer, but racer Forza Horizon 4 served up one of the best driving game experiences of 2018. It also let you floss on top of a waterfall, so that’s something.

Nintendo Switch: It’s a toss up between two Nintendo classics for best Switch game of the year. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the pinnacle of the fighting game series, offering an insane amount of content and a bulging roster, keeping players busy for years to come.

Pokemon Let’s Go provided fans with the home console Pokemon game they’d always wanted. By drawing heavily on the mobile Pokemon Go format, it’s also incredibly accessible for new players.

PC: While Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on other platforms, PC is undoubtedly the best place to play the ultimate wild west fantasy, and it’s made even more bittersweet by the fact that this is PC gamers’ first Red Dead game, as the last one was console-exclusive. It was worth the wait.

Everywhere: Fortnite is no doubt THE game of 2018, and part of its appeal is the fact that it’s available on pretty much everything. Developer Epic played it smart with the game, constantly introducing new features and content to the free game to maintain an unprecedented level of excitement. It doesn’t look like it will slow down in 2019, either.

Looking Ahead – 2019 in Tech

2018 has been pretty packed with interesting tech, but there’s no doubt that 2019 will offer up some surprises too.

So what can we expect? Well, there’s Samsung’s folding phone, which could revolutionize the mobile market, or flop spectuarly. Either way, finding out will be fun. Then, there’s the S10, which Samsung is promising will be a truly landmark phone. We’ve certainly read plenty of rumors about it (camera hidden behind the screen, haptic feedback, self healing), which if even half of it is true, should prove to be one heck of a device.

Then, there’s whatever Apple’s cooking up. We’ve heard rumors that the iPad Pro will be getting another overhaul, and possibly an onscreen fingerprint sensor. Then there’s the Mini, which is looking incredibly long in the tooth these days, and well overdue an update. As for the 2019 iPhonem where do Apple go from the XS Max? Rumors indicate that Apple may be offering up a triple lens camera, and potentially Apple pencil capability.

2019 will also be the year of 8K TVs hitting the headlines, if not our homes. It will be interesting to see what prices manufacturers pitch them at, and just what we’ll be watching on them. The dearth of available 8K content means it’s hard to recommend snapping up an 8K set anytime soon.

We may also see new games consoles revealed in the next 12 months. With Sony ditching E3 entirely, it seems the brand is working on something big. Once one new console drops, the others will surely follow, so prepare for those floodgates to open in 2019.

Lenovo's announced a raft of new laptops at IFA this year and they all share one thing — brighter than normal screens. So will they burn twice as bright for half as long or are they the real deal? We went hands-on to find out.

The iPhone 11 series launch was the most underwhelming in years. We're inclined to wonder whether there's any point in buying the new iPhones or whether it's worth sticking with your current one, or waiting for 2020. Or whether, whisper it, you might be better of with an Android?

IFA is the biggest tech event in Europe, and Tech.co hit the IFA 2019 show to see the latest phones, tablets, TVs and more from some of the biggest brands in global tech. Read on for our selection of the most innovative, eye-catching or downright strange tech from IFA 2019

Jack is the Content Manager for Tech.co. He has been writing about a broad variety of technology subjects for over a decade, both in print and online, including laptops and tablets, gaming, and tech scams. As well as years of experience reviewing the latest tech devices, Jack has also conducted investigative research into a number of tech-related issues, including privacy and fraud.